So, after a great two weeks spent building a house and exploring Yogjakarta, it was time to pack my bags, say goodbye to the Habitat for Humanity crew, and fly to Bali.
It was a very short visit to Bali, and I was going to be travelling with Mandy, Jeremy, and Alissa from the build crew.
Uluwatu - Beaches and scooters.
We took off from Yogyakarta Adisucipto International Airport and had a very quick flight to Ngurah Rai International Airport. Once we collected all our bags, we had to organize a taxi to take us to our first destination, the beautiful area of Uluwatu. The taxi was super cheap and before we knew it we had arrived at our homestay (hotel) and it was very close to the beach. A quick bag dump, change of clothes and into another taxi to the beach to chill. What an amazing beach, with some massive waves and current. The locals were very friendly too! A little too friendly at times.
After a great day at the beach day and a good nights rest we all decided to get scooters and do some exploring!
A great day at a local beach resting up, playing in the surf and eating ice creams! Not too bad.
We had the scooters for 24hrs so we got up early the next morning and went to the Uluwatu Temple
Pura Luhur. This compound is a Hindu temple and is built right on a 70m cliff. The whole compound and all the buildings are very ornate, and getting there early in the morning enabled us to beat the crowds.
Ubud - Monkeys and temples.
Sadly, this part of the trip was over far too quickly and we soon bundled ourselves into a taxi to go north to the rice fields and open vistas of Ubud. The ride was about 2hrs in a local taxi and it was an interesting endeavor to say the least. The driver was in a rush to get somewhere, and then back again. I think?
We split into two groups and stayed in separate homestays that were just 15 minutes’ walks from the center of Ubud. The homestay I stayed in with Mandy was a family owned home which had been extended to provide rooms and a pool. The house itself was beautiful and had the families very own temple area, with ornate decorations and statues everywhere.
Our first stop after exploring Ubud was the Sacred Monkey Forest at the north end of Ubud. We got there towards early evening and so the light was amazing, and so were the locals. Most of the locals were long-tailed macaque monkeys. They were very curious and a little too friendly at times, which made the visit that bit more interesting.
This was a whole days’ worth of fun and after a great feed in Ubud we all slept well ready for the last days sightseeing around the Ubud area.
This was to be our last day together as a group so we organized a sightseeing driver for the morning, who would take us to the Hindu water temple, Tirtha Empul Tampaksiring and then to the Tegallalang Rice Terrace. First stop the temple and into another sarong. It was another amazing temple with an air of real history and spiritual importance to the locals.
After a short taxi ride from the temple we arrived at the rice terrace gardens in the middle of the day. The sun was out in full force, but we still managed to go for a walk around the fields on the hill side, followed by an ice cream.
Tegallalang Rice Terrace, Ubud.
A farmer preparing his field for the next crop
Rice terraces.
Before we knew another day had passed and it was time to go our separate ways. Mandy was heading back home to DC, Jeremy, and Alissa where heading further north to hike a mountain and I spent the last day chilling in Ubud, and people watching.
What an amazing three weeks. I met some great people, took some great pictures and had an amazing time. I will work with Habit for Humanity again for all of the experiences and fun that is to be had.
Normal Iceland blogs will now resume as I have a great hiking story to share.
Thanks for reading and come back for more in a week.
Cheers,
Kev
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Me and the giant monkey statue at Uluwatu Temple
Pura Luhur.